By Hook or By Crook
by Abe-Lincoln-in-Neverland
Summary: Regina's Storybrooke curse was meant to destroy all happy endings but what if in ruining one, it unwittingly created another? Sleeping Hook. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Prologue

**A NOTE OR TWO FROM YOUR AUTHOR:**

Hello everyone and welcome to what I hope will be a lovely and exciting journey through Storybrooke for our favorite pirate and princess duo. My intention is to make this a very long, multi-chapter, novel length fic that helps us all get through the winter hiatus with our ship sailing well and true but first there are a few things that I feel may need explaining and possible warning.

**This story involves cheating/being unfaithful in a serious relationship.**

I understand that this can be a trigger for some people and I would not want to throw them in to this without fair warning but, please, hear me out.

Regina's Storybrooke curse was meant to destroy all happy endings and at the time of the curse being enacted Phillip was Aurora's true love. That clearly isn't going to ring true throughout this fic but hey, that's why they call Sleeping Hook better than canon. Anyway, what better way to ruin a relationship than someone being unfaithful? It is arguably the most painful experience one could go through in a relationship and in the end it would have been a pretty good way for the curse to ruin Aurora and Phillip for good.

**Killian will not have a hook for the majority of this fic.**

I had a very serious internal battle and multiple conversations with fellow Sleeping Hookers and we have all agreed that having some guy running around Storybrooke with a hook for a hand would have been far too easy to figure out. The curse changed certain details about other characters to help keep up the ruse and I feel like Killian keeping both of his hands is a very possible route it would have taken.

**Killian and Aurora (as well as a few others) will all keep their same names.**

I know this goes directly against what I just said about the curse trying to make it not obvious but I don't care. I like their names and will not write them differently.

Also, I hate writing beginnings and the entire getting to know you think but it must be done. Sorry if the first couple of chapters seem a little bit rushed... I just really want to get to the good parts.

Okay, cool, everybody got that? Great. NOW LET'S GET ON WITH THE SHOW!

**PROLOGUE**

Aurora walked through the front door of his apartment the same way that she had almost every other day for the past few months. It was a modest little place, there was nothing fancy or over the top about it, but it was cozy and provided much needed warmth from the cold. It was crazy how cold Storybrooke could stay for a good eight months out of the year but hey, it was home.

With the door closed snugly behind her she removed her black pea coat and hung it up on the small metal hook next to his. It was unusually quiet in the apartment for this time of day, he should have just gotten home from work and that always meant turning on the small stereo in the kitchen while he wound down.

"Killian?" She called as she unwrapped the thick red scarf from around her neck. A few seconds went by without an answer so she walked over to the window that overlooked the street and moved the curtain just enough to peek outside, sure enough his big dark blue jeep was in it's usual space right out front. She let the curtain fall back in to place as she made her way towards the kitchen, the clicking of her heeled brown boots sounding foreign to her ears against the hardwood floor underfoot.

"Hey," she said as she found him standing in the kitchen leaning casually against the counter with a glass of what she assumed was his favorite rum in his hand, "didn't you hear me come in?"

"I've been hearing a lot of things today," his voice was somber, slightly deeper than the playful tone he typically used with her, "not really sure what I should be believing anymore."

Aurora's brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

He took a swig from the glass he was holding before nodding towards the small dining table on the other side of the room. She quickly glanced over and saw the copy of _The Storybrooke Storybook_, the small town's local newspaper, sitting by itself on the wooden surface. Aurora quickly walked over to the table and snatched up the paper before her eyes could even pick up on what page it was opened to but he knew by the way her eyes widened and the tiny gasp that escaped her lips the exact moment that it hit her.

"Killian," she said as she placed the paper back down on the table, "I swear it's not-"

"Save it, Aurora." His voice and the use of her full first name stopped her explanation in it's tracks. "All I need to know is right there in front of you."

"Killian-"

"You're engaged." His voice was louder now and she could feel the blood drain from her face as the words reached her ears. She knew that this was coming, it was practically unavoidable, but she had thought that she would have just a little more time to fix things before it blew up in her face like this.

"You've known about Phillip from the very beginning."

"Yeah, I knew you had a boyfriend. BOY. FRIEND." He enunciated each part of the phrase and practically spit them from his mouth. "Pretty big difference between a boyfriend and a fiance."

"I know what it says in the paper but I swear to you, you don't know the entire story."

He let out a bitter chuckle. "What else is there to know? He popped the question, you said yes. You gave your word to stick with the guy, to get married and have kids, white picket fence and all that and you..." He stopped for a moment and regarded the glass in his hand. "You broke my fucking heart."

Without warning he threw the glass in to the sink and quickly began to move toward the archway that separated the kitchen from the living room. Aurora was across the room in an instant and before she could even process what she was doing she found her hands against his chest as her body blocked his intended path of escape.

"Killian, please just listen to me." She begged. "Just let me explain my side of the situation."

"You're side is pretty well covered by that announcement welcoming Philly Boy in to the family."

"I never said yes, Killian, I never said that I would marry him."

"Do you have the ring?" He asked, his eyes finally moving to meet hers for the first time since she had walked through the front door. She could see the telltale reddening of past tears shed as he gazed down at her and she knew that her answer to his question would only hurt him more. She looked away from him, eyes darting down to the floor, and that was all the answer that he needed. "Brilliant."

"What?" Aurora asked as she turned her gaze back towards him.

"I love you, 'Rora, I do. I won't try to deny that now or ever-"

"Killian, I love you, too-"

"-but I can't do this. I won't do this." He kept his eyes locked steadily with her's. "I can't keep putting everything that I have in to something that's going nowhere and I'm sick of the hiding and sneaking around. It was fun at first, put a little extra excitement in the air, but now..." he stopped and took a deep breath. "It's not fair, not to you, not to _Phillip,_" he spat, "and certainly not to me."

"What are you saying?" Her brows furrowed as she searched his face for some sign, any speck of light that would tell her that this wasn't really happening.

"I'm saying I'm done, Aurora."

"Killian," she gasped as she tightened her hold around his collar, "you can't do this. Please, don't do this."

He placed his hands over her's and began to pull away. "We never should have let it get this far, sweetheart, and for that I'm sorry but it's time to end this. You're getting married for Christ's sakes."

She didn't miss the way his voice faltered over the dreaded "M" word and she felt the tears welling in her eyes. He took three long strides away from her and back over to the kitchen counter, all the while keeping his back turned to her.

"So that's it then? We're over," she snapped her fingers, "just like that. Everything that we've been through and you're going to throw it away like it meant nothing."

"It meant everything to me, Aurora!" He yelled as he spun back around the face her. She could tell that he was holding on to his self control by a thread and at the moment she couldn't care less. "**You **mean everything to me!"

"Then why?!" Aurora shouted back, her own resolve slipping away. "If I mean so much to you then why are you doing this?!"

"Because I don't mean enough to you!"

"How can you even say that?!"

"If I did then you wouldn't be wearing some other guy's ring!"

Aurora was speechless, for the first time in her life she had no witty comeback or words of wisdom to pull from god knows where to lighten the mood. The tears were still welling in her eyes and by the look of pure hurt strewn across Killian's face she knew that he wasn't far behind. This was it, she knew it was, and she couldn't even think of one good thing to say.

Killian turned back towards the counter, a hand on either side of the sink as he gripped the edge in an iron vice. "I think you'd better go."

"Please-"

"NOW!"

The word escaped his lips as something resembling a growl and it was all she could do not to run towards him and demand that he listen to her but deep down she knew that it was pointless. He had made himself perfectly clear.

He was finished with her.

Without another word she walked back down the hallway, grabbed her coat and scarf, and practically ran out in to the cold without even bothering to put them on. By the time she got in to her car she had tears streaming down her face and could barely focus enough to find the keyhole to start the ignition. She subconsciously thanked god that her car had decided to cooperate with her today as she sped off down the road as fast as she could feeling more lost and alone than she ever had before.


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE.**

**SEVEN MONTHS EARLIER.**

"Order up!"

Aurora made her way behind the counter of Granny's quickly scribbling down the rest of her table's order on her small yellow notepad with a pen that only wanted to work half of the time. She had been working at the town's diner for a few months and, thanks to a lot of help from Ruby, she was practically an old pro at the job by now. Sure it wasn't the most glamorous or well paying gig out there but she enjoyed not being cooped up and having the chance to talk to the people in the small town on a daily basis did have it's perks... it was almost impossible for her to get a parking ticket anymore!

She tore the sheet from the pad and pinned it to the small window that separated the kitchen from the dining room and gave a quick smile to the cook hiding out behind it. It had been a typical Thursday day shift, not as busy as a Friday yet not as quiet as a Tuesday, and she wasn't too terribly surprised by how quickly the time had been flying by.

"I'm back." Ruby said as she walked through the front double doors from her break.

"Good, I just sat a four top at number twelve." Granny said as she walked over to the cash register.

"Cool, I'll take care of it" She said as she hung her coat and purse up on the hooks behind the counter.

"Good lord, child, you go around complaining about it being cold and yet you go out wearing that!" Granny said as she gestured toward Ruby's... uniquely altered work uniform.

"Hey, it get's me good tips." Ruby said with a shrug.

Aurora didn't necessarily believe that. She had always worn the uniform, white button up shirt paired with a bright red skirt and a black apron, the way that it had been intended to be donned and she thought that the tips that she received were more than reasonable but hey, to each their own. Aurora wasn't about to sit back and judge the girl that she owed her job to no matter how unorthodox her methods may have seemed.

Granny grumbled something under her breath before turning back to whatever paperwork she had been working on all morning. Ruby simply rolled her eyes at her grandmother before turning towards Aurora and giving her a quick bump with her hip.

"So what are you getting in to tonight?"

"Date night with Phillip." Aurora responded as she grabbed a new pen from under the register.

"Yawn." Ruby mocked as she grabbed her apron and tied it around her waist. "Didn't you just do that, like, three days ago?"

"It was a week ago and yes," she said pointedly, "we go out every Thursday night."

"Boring."

"It is not." Aurora laughed. "It's cute."

"Enjoy it while it lasts, kid," Granny piped in, "sooner or later all that lovey dovey stuff goes right down the drain."

"Right," Ruby said shortly, "well how about you guys and your cuteness come out with me to The Hook tonight?"

"The Hook?"

"Yeah, it's that bar over on the docks. My cousin owns the place." Ruby explained as she pulled a pack of gum out of her apron pocket. She pulled a stick out before turning the pack towards Aurora, a silent offering which she politely refused with a shake of her head. "I know that's not your usual scene or whatever but it's pretty cool and they make this blooming onion thing that is to die for. Also, Ryan Deers just asked me to go and I don't want to show up by myself."

"If you're heading over there make sure you remind him that he's signed up to help with that charity movie night we're having here."

"Granny!" Ruby hissed as she turned towards the older woman. "A little privacy?"

"This is my diner," Granny said looking down at her through her glasses, "I listen to whatever it is that I want to listen to. If you don't like it then have your conversations somewhere else."

Ruby rolled her eyes and turned back towards Aurora. "So are you in? We all haven't hung out since you two moved in together."

"I'll ask Phillip about it and I'll let you know."

"Ask him now," Granny interrupted again, "he's about to walk through the front door.

Aurora turned and was surprised to see Phillip, all dressed up in his suit for his new job at the Mayor's office, push through the double doors. "Phillip!" She called as she rushed around to the other side of the counter.

"Hey." He said with a brightened smile as their arms found their way around one another.

"You should have told me you were coming," Aurora said while pulling herself out of the hug, "I could have put your order in."

"I need the break from Regina." He took a seat at the bar as she walked back behind it and began pouring him a coffee. "How's your day been?"

"Excuse me, miss!" All three ladies at the counter looked down the diner and saw a man at table six raising his empty glass in his hand. "Can I get another?"

Aurora nodded. "I'll be right there!"

"I'll take care of it." Ruby said as she spit her hardly chewed piece of gum in to the trash can.

"Didn't you just start chewing that piece?" Granny asked.

"You take care of Phillip and I'll cover your tables." Ruby said in an attempt to ignore her grandmother completely.

"Are you sure?" Aurora asked as she set the coffee mug down in front of her boyfriend.

"Positive, now what's loudmouth over there having?"

"Diet." Aurora answered immediately. "Thanks Rube."

"No problem," she said as she filled the man a new glass, "just remember to buy me a drink tonight and we'll call it even."

"Keep wearing outfits like that and the whole bar will be buying you drinks."

With one last roll of her eyes Ruby was gone and doing her usual show for the customers. She was a weird bird and always marched to the beat of her own drummer but she and Aurora had become incredibly close over the past few months. She was a little rough around the edges and it had taken her a little while to get used to her very blunt and honest way of talking but she was very glad that she had.

"What was that about buying her a drink tonight?" Phillip asked as he pointlessly looked over the menu. He always got the same thing, chicken and cheese pita with plain chips instead of fries and a side of potato salad.

"Oh," she had almost forgotten about that, "she invited us out to some bar on the docks that her cousin owns tonight."

"Yeah, about that," he said as he sat the menu down on the counter, "Regina's got some huge audit coming up and she asked me to take a look at some of her records and make sure that everything is accounted for."

"Can't you do it another time?" Aurora asked.

"She wants it by tomorrow." Phillip's hands moved across the counter to grasp her's. "I'm really sorry but I just started this job and I really want it to work out. Regina is a pain but if I really just want to get on her good side."

"I know." Aurora said with a sad smile. She understood, she really did, but that didn't mean that she had to like it.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"Order up!"

She nodded as the loud voice boomed from the window to her left and she quickly pulled her hands from his. "I'm going to go and grab that for Ruby," she said as she pulled the yellow pad from her apron, "do you just want your usual?"

"Sure."

They exchanged a smile before Aurora turned, scribbled his order down, clipped it to the window, and grabbed the large round tray destined for table eight. She made quick work of delivering everyone's order before joining Ruby back over at the drink machine.

"Phillip can't make it tonight." She said as she filled the remaining empty glasses up with ice. "He's got some weird Regina project to finish up."

Ruby shrugged. "So let's do girl's night, then."

"I don't know. You've got your date."

"Oh, come on Aurora." Ruby said as she filled the glasses with each patron's drink of choice. "You're not some princess locked up in a tower and you know that what Ryan and I have is definitely **not **dating. Besides, what else are you going to do, sit at home and watch him do... whatever the hell it is that he does? No, you're coming out with me tonight and that's final."

"Oh really?" Aurora asked. "And what happens if I don't?"

"I'll break up with you." Ruby said casually. "Our romance will be done and you'll be left to cry alone in the corner booth every shift. You don't want that now do you?"

"No I definitely wouldn't want that," she agreed with a laugh, "pick you up at eight?"

Ruby winked. "You've got it, lover."

Eight o'clock came much faster than Aurora thought possible and before she knew it she was sitting around one of the many round wooden tables that decorated The Hook. It was a nicer place than what she would have thought given the location and the liquor selection was top notch. There was a substantially sized hardwood dance floor of sorts in front of a large stage that Ruby had told her hosted live bands on most Friday nights. There was another raised platform on the other side of the room that held a couple of pool tables, a dart board, and a large flat screen television hanging from the wall. The place wasn't too crowded, there was room enough to get around, but it was obvious that this was the typical hangout for the people who lived on this side of the town.

Aurora was pleasantly surprised by the amount of fun that she had been having so far. Ruby was constantly on patrol making sure that Aurora always had a drink in her hand even though the partial red head was a good two to three ahead of her at any given moment. In her current situation she wouldn't have been particularly shocked to find herself slipping in to the third wheel role but Ruby somehow had a way of including both of them, as well as the couple of friends Ryan had brought along and a couple of random other bar patrons, in on whatever conversation or game they were currently taking part in.

"I'm going to go and get myself another drink," Aurora yelled to Ruby over whatever song someone had decided needed to be blared from the jukebox, "do you want anything?"

"I'll have what you're having." Ruby replied as Ryan spun her around in time with the music. They were both obviously drunk and despite Aurora having a nice buzz of her own she quickly realized that she would have to be the responsible one tonight and take on the task of getting the two of them home.

Aurora made her way up to the bar and took a seat on the only empty bar stool she could find. She spotted the bartender at the other end of the counter and knew that it would be a few minutes before she would be served. She momentarily considered heading back to Ruby and company but she knew that if she did that Ruby would insist that the two of them walk back up together and demand to be served next so she instead decided to stick it out and wait her turn. She had no idea what she wanted anyway so she figured the extra time to take a look at the available selection was for the best. She was about half way through surveying the liquor on the top shelf when she heard the man on the bar stool next to her's let out a low whistle.

"Well now, take a look at you." The middle aged man slurred as he attempted to scoot closer to her on the stool that was clearly mounted to the ground. "You're a pretty little thing aren't you?"

"Thanks." Aurora said as she tried her best not to look over at him.

"You know who you look like?" The man asked as he laughed to himself. "You look like my next ex wife."

Aurora rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored him.

"What are you drinking, doll?" He asked as he rested a hand on her shoulder in an almost chummy way. "Let me buy your next round."

"No thank you." Aurora said sinking her shoulder in an attempt to shake his hand off of her as she glanced back down the counter at the bartender who was busy pouring a drink.

"Aw, come on now don't be like that." He said as he began moving his hand in small circles on her shoulder. "Pretty little thing like you has got to be used to men buying her drinks at bars all the time. Let an old man have the pleasure of picking up your tab. You like whiskey? Hey bar back!"

"I've already told you-" her hand found his wrist and forcefully removed his hand from her person.

"One for the lady and two for me!"

With a huff she pushed herself off of the stool and made to turn to leave but a large meaty arm wrapping itself around her middle stopped her in her tracks. "Let go of me." She said as she tried to pull herself from his grasp.

"Listen doll, I ordered you a drink." He pulled her against his body. "Now sit down and drink it."

Aurora shot a horrified glance over at Ruby and saw her friend immediately begin to move towards the bar with Ryan and friends in toe. Before they could reach her, however, a loud bark of a voice sounded from behind her.

"Gibbs!" The sudden new voice made both of them jump as they turned their attention back towards the bar.

"Stay out of this, Jones, I'm just buying the girl a drink."

"She said no." The entire bar was looking their way now and she couldn't have been more mortified. "Now get your hands off of her unless you're willing to lose them."

Aurora took her moment of immobilization to take a look at the man who was currently coming to her rescue. Jones, as her captor had called him, had dark brown hair that fell just far enough to hover over his brow. His eyes, though hard with an obvious threat at the moment, were a beautiful hue of ocean blue and the stubble that he had allowed to grow in on his face was neat and clean cut. He wasn't incredibly tall but the slight tone to the muscles that she could see from the way his shirt sleeves were rolled almost to the elbow and the air of importance that clung all around him made him seem so.

"Don't make me tell you again."

After what seemed like forever the man released her and Aurora quickly jumped up to her feet. She took a few shaky steps to the left before settling on the other side of the bar stool and out of the man's reach as she joined the rest of the bar in watching _Jones _deal with the drunken man.

"Apologize."

"I'm sorry."

"Not to me." His voice raised in annoyance as he gestured towards her.

Gibbs turned on his stool and did his best to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry, miss."

Aurora nodded shortly and kept her eyes focused just to left of him as she felt the blush rushing in to her cheeks. She was absolutely mortified. This was supposed to have been a fun night out with her friend and it was turning in to... well, this.

"Pay your tab and go, Mr. Gibbs." Jones said as he turned his back on the situation and walked leisurely over to the tap and grabbing an empty glass. "I don't want to see you back in here for a while, understood?"

"Yes sir." He pushed himself up from his stool and dropped a few bills on the bar before looking back towards Aurora. "I was just trying to-"

"**NOW, **Mr. Gibbs." With his head hung almost comically low Gibbs began his walk of shame out of the bar. Aurora could still feel all eyes on her and just as she thought the silence would never come to an end she heard his voice boom through the room again. "Show's over folks, as you were."

Everyone quickly went back to their own business and Aurora thought it best to reclaim her seat at the bar and take a few moments alone. She looked back over at Ruby and saw the questioning look on her face. Aurora gave her a weak smile and a nod, telling her without words that she was okay, and Ruby tilted her head to the side. Aurora gave a dismissing wave of her hand before turning back around on the stool and staring down at her hands.

"You alright, love?" Aurora glanced up and saw the man who had just helped her leaning casually against the opposite counter cleaning a glass with a white rag.

"Yes, I'm fine." She said softly. "I'm more embarrassed and humiliated than I ever have been in my life but..."

"Don't be," he said nonchalantly, "you'd be shocked by the things that happen in here. That little show, that was nothing." Aurora raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow. "Alright maybe it was a little something."

She rolled her eyes but couldn't fight off the slight smile that formed on her face. "Thank you for that."

"It was my pleasure, believe me. That git has been a thorn in my side for months now, drinks like a fish and either gets angry or cries when he does." She let out a soft laugh and just missed the sly smile that it elicited on his own face. "Never did catch your name there, sweetheart."

"Aurora."

"Well, Aurora," he said in a way that made it seemed like he was testing the word on his lips, "what are we drinking?"

"Oh, I don't know." She said as she tried to think of something. "Surprise me."

He grabbed two glasses out from under the counter and quickly went to work mixing. Aurora glanced down at the other bartender and couldn't help but notice how much more skilled Jones obviously was. While the other man seemed to have to look and think about what he was going to add next, Jones simply knew. When he turned back around he had two different drinks in his hand, one a dark brown and one a bright electric blue. He sat the blue one in front of her and kept the other for himself.

"What am I drinking?" Aurora asked as she spun the straw that he had put in it.

"Ah, ah, ah," he said quickly, "knowing will just ruin the surprise."

"Well alright then." She said as she raised her glass in to the air. "To Jones." All of a sudden the man that she was currently cheersing to burst in to laughter. "What?"

"You." He answered honestly.

"What did I do?" She asked with a laugh of her own as she put her glass back down on the bar.

"_Jones."_

"Well that's what he called you." She defended.

"_Jones_," he drawled out dramatically, "is my last name and only these drunkards call me that."

"Fine." Aurora said shortly. "What's your first name and we can cheers to that."

"Killian."

"To Killian." She raised her glass again.

"To Aurora."

A good hour had gone by and Aurora was still sat at the bar talking animatedly with Killian Jones. The drink continued to flow and he had even stepped out from behind the counter and was currently occupying the seat that Gibbs had earlier in the night. The crowd had thinned slightly but neither of them had really given a notice or care.

"So why haven't I seen you in here before?" He asked at the end of one of their many entertaining conversations. "This is a small town and there's not much else to do in it."

"It's because her boyfriend is a fun sponge." Ruby's sudden slurred voice answered from somewhere behind her. "Don't get me wrong he used to be fun but ever since he's started working for the mayor..."

Aurora turned in her chair just in time to miss the way his brows raised at the mention of a boyfriend. "Ruby, are you okay?"

"Fine!" Ruby said with a wave of her hand. "Fine, fine, fine."

"You know _her_?" Killian asked as he watched his cousin practically fall in to her friend's lap.

"Everyone knows me, Killian." She answered while twirling a piece of Aurora's hair around her fingers. "You have beautiful hair, you know that? It's like a princess."

Aurora glanced over towards Killian and couldn't help but smile as she saw him softly chuckling with his arms crossed over his chest. She wasn't sure what it was about the extremely common behavior but on him it just seemed so very attractive.

"I should probably get her home." She said as she batted Ruby's hand from her hair.

"Home sweet home." Ruby cooed.

"Would probably be for the best." He pushed himself up from his stool and quickly swept Ruby up in to his arms in one swift motion. He heard Ruby mumble some sort of protest but he just ignored her entirely. There was no way that she was going to make it to the car in the condition she was in and he wasn't about to let Aurora try and get her across the street by herself.

"You got her?" Aurora asked as she collected her jacket and scarf.

"You think this is the first time I've had to carry her out of somewhere?" He asked sarcastically as he nodded towards the door. "Lead the way."

The parking lot was cold and wet and Aurora wished briefly that she was the one being held close to the man's chest but she quickly shook it off. It had to be the alcohol talking. She fished her car keys out of her pocket as she lead him up to her old beat up Honda and pressed the unlock button repeatedly. The car was a little worse for wear nowadays and had definitely seen it's fair share of damage, not to mention it was the color of a dirty penny and the battery only wanted to work on it's own terms, but the thing that bothered her the absolute most about the stupid thing was that the power locks only worked about half of the time.

"You actually drive this thing?" Killian asked as she had to yet again manually unlock the driver's side door.

"When it decides to work, yes." She answered while reaching in to the back and unlocking the door.

"I'm sorry to tell you this but it might just be about time to put the poor thing out of it's misery." He popped the back door open and gently laid Ruby's now unconscious body on to the long seat before straightening himself back up and turning back towards his companion. "You sure you're alright to drive?"

"I'm sure." She smiled at him and pulled her coat a little tighter around her body. "Thanks again, for everything."

"Don't mention it." He said as he took a step closer to her. "Just make sure the two of you get home okay."

"Will do."

"And don't be a stranger," he said with a smirk, "there is a severe lack of gorgeous girls in my bar and I'd love to have you back anytime."

Aurora nodded, a slight blush warming her otherwise freezing cheeks. "Sure thing."

She wasn't exactly sure why she didn't pull her hand away when he reached for it but it would be a lie to say that she didn't feel her heart begin to beat a little faster when he lifted it to his lips and place a soft kiss on the back of it.

"Sleep tight, Princess."

With that he turned and made his way back to his bar leaving the girl with the princess hair to stare after him in a state of shock and, weirdly enough, an almost schoolgirl type of giddiness. Unable to stop the smile from growing on her face she jumped in to the car and didn't even mind pumping the ignition three times before it started.


	3. Chapter 2

**I'm not sure whether I should say sorry or your welcome for this chapter. Thanks to the tumblr blackout of 12/12/12 I had nothing to do but play with it and it just went crazy all of a sudden. It wrote itself. I had zero control over it.**

**CHAPTER TWO.**

"Ruby, come on." Aurora said as she opened the back door of her car to find her friend sprawled across the seat with one booted foot propped up in the back window while the other rested gently on the floor. "We've got to get you inside."

"No." She whined as she threw an arm over her eyes. "I want to sleep here."

"No, absolutely not, you'll freeze."

"Granny's gonna yell at me." She grumbled. "She always yells at me."

"Granny's not going to yell at you, Rube, we're not even at your house." Aurora grabbed her friend's arm and gently pulled her in to a sitting position.

"Where are we?"

"You're going to stay at my place tonight."

"Why?"

"Because if I took you back to your grandmother's like this she would probably fire me. Now stand up." Ruby seemed to accept her reasoning and tried her hardest to get to her feet. Aurora kept an arm around her waist and carefully helped her on to the sidewalk. Ruby stumbled a couple of times but for the most part made it unscathed. Luckily enough the cute little house that Aurora shared with Phillip only had a few small steps up to the porch and beyond those she figured that they would be in the clear. The girls stumbled on to the porch and Aurora made quick work of unlocking the front door all the while keeping a supportive hand on her friend. The moment that she got the door open she escorted Ruby inside and straight over to the living room.

"There you go." Aurora whispered as she helped her settle on to the couch. "I'm going to go and get you a glass of water."

"I don't want water." Ruby mumbled as she laid her head down on the arm rest. "Is Phillip here?"

"Yes." Aurora answered.

"Tell him to make me some breakfast. He's always good at making breakfast."

Aurora rolled her eyes but still went about walking in to the kitchen, grabbing a glass, and filling it with the cold ice water from the front of the fridge. She grabbed a loaf of bread from the cabinet above and extracted two slices before grabbing the tiny bottle of Tylenol from the drawer below and walking back in to the room to find Ruby already covered in the throw blanket that had been draped over the back of the sofa. She had half expected her to put up a fight and refuse to rehydrate herself but apparently the ghost of hangovers past had gotten to her and she took both the water and the bread without a second thought. Aurora opened the Tylenol bottle and popped four of the little pills in to her hand. She handed two to Ruby before grabbing the glass of water from her and taking the remaining ones herself.

"He likes you." Ruby said out of the blue.

Aurora looked over at her friend, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Who?"

"Killian." She answered as she sunk down to lay on her side.

Aurora stood from the couch and allowed Ruby's legs to stretch out and take her spot. "He was just being nice."

"The words 'Killian' and 'nice' go together like orange juice and toothpaste." She mumbled as she attempted to kick her boots off.

"I'm sure he just wanted a good tip." Aurora pulled at the zippers of Ruby's boots, freeing them up enough for her to effectively shed them one after the other.

"Tips on drinks that you didn't pay for." She pointed out. "He was giving you free drinks. He never gives anyone free drinks. Not even me."

Aurora hadn't even thought about the fact that she had never paid her bar tab. "I'm sure he just forgot."

"Killian Jones does not forget about money, Aurora." From the tired tone Ruby's voice had acquired she could tell that she was minutes away from falling asleep. "He's the owner... he has to..."

And with that Ruby was out like a light. Aurora let out a soft sigh as she rose to her feet and made her way down the hall and in to the laundry room. She grabbed the spare blanket that was folded up on the rack above her head before walking back in to the living room and draping it over Ruby. She walked back in to the kitchen and grabbed a large plastic bowl and proceeded to sit it down next to the couch, just in case, before making her way up the stairs and down the short hallway that lead to her and Phillip's room. He was sound asleep, just like she had expected him to be, and she made quick and quiet work of changing out of her clothes and in to some soft cotton pajama bottoms and a white tank top. She silently slipped in to bed and pulled the covers around her before letting herself drift off to sleep.

The weekend hadn't been anything too special. She and Phillip had done a little housekeeping and had managed to make time to go and see a movie Saturday night, Phillip's attempt to make up for canceling on her earlier in the week, but beyond that it was mainly the same old song and dance of every other weekend. She wasn't quite sure why she hadn't mentioned the run in she had experienced at The Hook, maybe she was still embarrassed by it, but she figured it was probably for the best. He wasn't the least bit surprised when he had awoken to a passed out Ruby crashing on their couch, however, and had even gone ahead and made her that breakfast that she had mentioned hours before. Ruby had surprised Aurora, though, when she called her on Sunday night with a crazy story about how she had scored some backstage pass concert tickets to a show in Boston.

_Can you please cover for me on Monday night?_ Ruby had asked.

_Just this once. _She had promised.

_It's always dead, you can just sit there and read a book._ She had said.

She had forgotten to mention just how miserably bored Aurora would be for those excruciatingly long four hours between six and ten. It seemed as if everyone in Storybrooke insisted on having a family meal at the dining room table and the rain pouring down outside sure wasn't helping matters. It was just about eight o'clock and she had done everything, literally everything, that she could possibly do. The tables had all been scrubbed until she could practically see her face in them, she had wiped down every single chair at least three times, if she tried to stuff one more sugar packet in to any of the table holders she was sure that they were going to explode. She had only one customer in the diner and all he seemed to want to do was drink coffee and stare blankly at his newspaper. Granny had left a good hour ago and it was obvious that Aurora was going to be left almost completely to her own devices for the rest of her shift so she grabbed one of the gossip mags that Ruby kept hidden under the counter and settled herself on to one of the bar stools.

Half way through reading a particularly_ interesting_ article about what sort of jeans fit what figure best she heard the tiny bell above the door jingle as someone entered. She glanced over at the door and was surprised to see a man working his way inside with a large, seemingly heavy, box resting on his shoulder and a huge white roll of some sort under his arm. His hood was up in an attempt to avoid the rain but she could see that the jacket he was wearing was pretty thoroughly soaked through. She put the magazine down and quickly moved toward him.

"Here, let me help you with that." She said as she tried to reach for the white roll.

"Oh, I think I can handle it." The man looked up and gave her a rakish smile from behind the hood, one that she recognized immediately.

"Killian?" She asked as she pulled away slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Dropping off the screen and projector for that whole movie night thing." He answered as he sat the large box down on the closest table with a slight thud. "I was expecting to see Ruby but I can't say I'm disappointed."

"I'm covering for her." Aurora replied as he pulled down his hood and looked around the diner to see just how deserted the place was.

"I didn't know you worked here." He commented.

"Yeah, for a few months now." She offered. "Do you want to take that stuff in to the back?"

"Probably should," he answered, "might need to dry off the screen a bit first."

"I'll get you a clean rag."

"Make it two." He said as he peeled the jacket off of him and draped it over the back of the booth that he was currently occupying. The black t-shirt that he had been wearing under it stuck slightly to him from the rain and Aurora had to quickly turn away to keep from staring. He, on the other hand, had no problem watching her from behind as she sauntered back behind the counter. The red and white uniform that he had seen probably a million times before seemed different somehow as the red skirt clung to her figure in all the right places. Unfortunately for him he couldn't stare too long before she was behind the counter and out of his line of sight. He worked at getting the Velcro strap undone and soon enough heard her gently footfalls making their way back to the table.

"How are we going to do this?" Aurora asked.

"Unrolling it would probably be the best course of action," he answered, "these things are pretty expensive and it would probably be my head if it got any water spots."

"How did you even find this thing?" Aurora asked as they worked together to unroll it.

"Couldn't tell you," he answered as he moved in to the next booth to fully expand it, "I've had it for years."

"Well clearly, it's got to be as old as I am."

"I'd say it's a bit older than twelve."

A sharp bark of laughter escaped her throat before she could stop it. "If I was twelve then you would be arrested for serving underage."

"Ah, but only if you got caught." He replied. "I think you're a little too clever for all that."

"That reminds me, I never paid you for my bar tab the other night." She said in an attempt to change the subject.

"Don't worry about that." He said as he began to wipe down the screen.

"No, I can't just not pay you. I'd feel awful." Aurora said as she followed his lead.

"It's the least that I can do after saddling you with the train wreck that was Ruby."

"She wasn't that bad." Aurora defended slightly. "She did try to sleep in the car though."

"That's Rube." He commented in a way that made it seem like he had dealt with her antics multiple times in the past. "It took me a good ten minutes to get her out of my Jeep on her twenty first. Sloshed as she was she still managed to get back out there in the middle of the night and reclaim her spot in the back seat."

"I think I heard about that." Aurora said with a laugh lacing her voice. "Is that the time that Granny thought she was missing?"

"And she called the sheriff. Yes." Killian confirmed. "You should have seen the look on her face when she woke up to Graham banging on the window."

"She said that she had no idea where she was, she thought she had been kidnapped."

"I've never seen her grandmother so riled up before." He commented. "Honestly, I wouldn't have been surprised if she had pulled out the crossbow on her."

"Oh God," Aurora laughed, "the crossbow. Did you know that she has one locked up in her office just in case?"

"She's a warrior, that one." Killian said as they finished drying off the screen and he began to roll it back up as she grabbed the rags and threw them on to the counter top. "Where would you like me to put this thing?"

Aurora took a quick glance around the diner as she considered his question. "Can we throw it in the kitchen?"

"Well throwing it might be a little tough."

"You know what I mean."

He let out a soft chuckle as he walked behind the counter and towards the door to the kitchen. "Anywhere?"

"As long as it's clean and out of the way."

"Aye, aye." He said mockingly as he disappeared behind the swinging kitchen door. It was strange, the way that they were acting together. The ridiculous, teasing sort of banter that they had engaged in was something that she hadn't experienced for a very long time. She couldn't help but compare it to the serious tone that her relationship with Phillip seemed to have. They used to play around and bug each other like this when they had first gotten together but after being with someone for five years she assumed that it was only natural for some of that childish behavior to dissipate, people got older and more mature, but she wouldn't pretend for a moment that she didn't miss it.

The bell above the door jingled and a loud ensemble of voices and faces flooded the diner at once. It was obvious from the wet and muddy uniforms and cleats that many of the young boys wore that the little league baseball game had just ended and the parents had made a collective decision to take everyone out for dinner. Aurora rushed over to the small podium and grabbed the stack of menus before leading the first family of four to the table furthest to the back.

"Hey guys, welcome to Granny's." She said quickly. "I'll be right back with you, I've just got to-"

"There we are." Her head spun quickly to see Killian seating another family in the next booth. She hadn't even heard him come back out of the kitchen yet here he was seating people like an old pro. "We're a bit short staffed tonight so just take a look over the menu, sit tight, and we'll be right with you." He gave the table a smile before turning and heading back to the front.

"What are you doing?" Aurora asked as she came up behind him.

"You're in a little over your head here, sweetheart, figured I could lend a hand." His gaze flashed over to the line of people waiting to be sat before turning back to her. "Now, does she still have the tables numbered clockwise or did she feel like being spicy and switch it up?"

"Wait, you know what you're doing?" She asked, sounding a bit more skeptical than she had meant to.

"I own a bar, Aurora." He said with that ever present sly smile on his face as he grabbed four more menus. "Waiting tables kind of comes with the territory, I've got this."

"You don't have to-" she tried to pull the menus from his grasp and was surprised when his other hand found its way over her's.

"I want to." He said seriously. "Now, clockwise?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Good." He released her hand and pulled the menus away from her. "I'll seat 'em, you get the drink orders and I'll meet you at the tap."

The next hour was full of quick work and constant orders as the unlikely duo worked together to get through the random post-game rush. Aurora was almost impressed by how well Killian could handle his own in an environment other than his and almost wished that he could be around the help her out like this more often. They had made quite the tag team as she took each table's order before handing the yellow slips of paper over to him to stick to the kitchen window. She would take care of filling up any drinks and Killian would deliver the food as soon as it came out from the back. He wasn't quite sure how to work the old and antiquated register so she would work on ringing people up while he went around the diner and collected empty plates. Everyone had began to trickle out at around nine which gave the two of them ample time to collect the leftover dishes and send them back to the kitchen to be cleaned before the night waitress, a pretty blonde named Ashley Boyd, had come in and started her shift. Ten o'clock had come quickly as she and Killian sat sipping coffee at the counter, her's mixed with tons of cream and sugar while he took his black.

"That went surprisingly well." Aurora commented as she stirred her drink.

"It's been a while since I've had to work a room," he commented as he watched her hand spinning in slow circles, "forgot how much fun it could be."

"That's because you like to ham it up for all the women." Aurora accused playfully. "Don't think that I didn't notice all of those cute little smiles you kept giving all the soccer moms."

"Baseball, not soccer," he corrected quickly, "and it got us some decent tips didn't it?"

"That it did." Aurora said as she pulled the larger than normal stack of bills out of her apron pocket. She counted out exactly half of it and held it out to him. "Here, it should at least cover our tab for the other night."

"I already told you not to worry about that." He said as he pushed her hand back towards her body.

"That was before you helped me with the little league team from hell." Aurora said pushing it back towards him.

He pushed her hand back again. "You can return the favor some other time."

"By slinging drinks?" Aurora asked. "You might want to rethink that. You wouldn't have any customers left."

"Why's that?"

"I can't mix a drink to save my life." She said as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Have you ever tried?" He asked.

"I've never really had a reason to." She answered honestly.

"Alright then." Killian said as he jumped off of his stool and held a hand out to her. "Come on."

She raised a brow as she eyed his proffered hand. "Where are we going?"

"Don't ask questions," he said quickly, "just come."

She wasn't exactly sure why he had brought her back to The Hook, truth be told she wasn't quite sure why she had even agreed to follow him there, but she was sure that she was about to find out. He had her standing behind the bar and off to the side that the consistent regulars weren't occupying and the strange presence behind the bar hadn't gone unnoticed by the numerous people currently inside it's walls. She didn't miss the way that the other bartender, an older, short and stout looking man wearing a red hat, kept glancing down at the two of them. She wasn't sure whether he was paranoid or curious about her being in his domain but she decided to ignore it for the most part. It was Killian's place and as long as he was okay with her being back there she really didn't care.

She watched as Killian grabbed a copy of _The Bartender's Black Book_ and slapped it down on the bar in front of her. "Open it." He said as he grabbed two small glasses from under the counter.

"What?" She asked.

"You said you didn't know how to mix a drink, right?" He asked as he sat the glasses down.

"Right."

"So I'm gonna teach you." He leaned leisurely against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. "First step is to open that book."

Aurora rolled her eyes but did as he said nonetheless. "Now what?"

"Pick a number, one through twenty." He said as he grabbed the book and looked over page 101.

"Twelve."

"Jiggy Cockfighter. No." He said quickly. "Try again."

"Ten?"

He recounted down the page and seemed to agree with whatever drink she had unknowingly picked this time as he grabbed a shaker and a few seemingly random bottles before returning back to her. "Alright, this one is called Jewel." He shook his head slightly. "Some of these names, I swear."

Aurora laughed as she glanced over the bottles. She recognized the words 'vermouth' and 'gin' on two of them and saw the word 'chartreuse' on another but beyond that she wasn't sure what any of these things were. He grabbed a couple of lemon slices out from the mini fridge under the counter as well as two tiny shot glasses.

"Alright, first you fill the shaker with ice." He took a step back and motioned for her to grab the shaker. At her surprised look he couldn't help but chuckle. "This is all you, sweetheart, go ahead."

"I don't want to."

"Come on Aurora," he said as he tilted his head to the side, "I'll stop you if you're about to do something ridiculous."

"You promise?"

He held up two fingers. "Scouts honor." Aurora, though skeptical about him ever being any type of scout, grabbed the shaker and filled it with ice from the freezer at her knees. She turned back to him, an expectant look on her face, and waited for her next direction. "Take the shot glass," he said as he moved closer to her and opened the bottle of gin, "and fill it up three quarters of the way."

He handed her the bottle and she carefully filled the glass. "Alright, now what?"

"Pour it in the shaker." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Then do the same with the vermouth," he pushed the green bottle closer to her, "and the chartreuse."

Aurora did as he said and then grabbed the smaller bottle without a label and held it up to him. "What about this one?"

"That one is what we call bitters." He explained as he plucked it from her grasp. "They have the strongest taste of anything in this bar and you only need a few drops."

"Can I try it first?" Aurora asked as she eyed the tiny bottle.

"If you must." He said with a laugh. She grabbed the bottle back and put a tiny drop on the tip of her pointer finger. She stuck the digit in her mouth and he gave her a knowing look as she recoiled away from the taste. "Strong, isn't it?"

"I don't want that in my drink."

"I promise you that when you mix it you won't get that taste at all." He explained as he took it upon himself to add a couple of drops to her concoction.

"Then why do I need them at all?"

"It makes a difference, trust me." He secured the small lid to the top of the shaker and began to mix the liquids together. Aurora watched in silent amusement as he shook the silver capsule back and forth looking more like he was doing some sort of strange dance as opposed to finishing up the drink that they had collaborated on together. After a good thirty seconds he stopped shaking, removed the tiny lid, and poured the liquid in to the two glasses that still sat perched on the bar. "Ready to see how you did?"

Aurora nodded and grabbed the glass in her hand. She still had the slight aftertaste of the bitters on her tongue that she wanted desperately to rid herself of so she quickly tapped her glass to his in a silent cheers before downing it. She was surprised by how good it tasted and was glad that he had been right about the bitters taste not being so dramatically present.

"So?" Killian asked as he eyed her face for a clue of what her judgment may be.

"I like it." She said with a smile.

"And you mixed it all on your own." He smiled and grabbed the shaker again. "Another?"

"I'd love to but I've got to get going." Aurora said as she checked the time on her phone. She noticed the missed text that she had received from Phillip but elected to ignore it until she was alone.

"Let me walk you out?" Killian asked.

Aurora nodded as she grabbed her coat and watched as Killian strode up to the bartender, shared a few short words with him, grabbed his own jacket and joined her on the other side of the bar. They walked out in a comfortable silence and made their way across the street and over to her car. Their was an awkward tension in the air that neither could really put their finger on as they stood facing one another next to her vehicle, neither really knowing what to say.

"Thanks again for your help tonight." She said finally. "I actually had a lot of fun."

"Me too." He said, his voice a good octave lower than it typically was. She hadn't really noticed just how close they had been standing until now but she made no real move to gain back any personal space. She noticed his gaze wander from her eyes down to her mouth and back again and would later wonder why she hadn't pulled away then. She felt the back of his hand gently ghost across the side of her neck and she knew what was coming. She took a small step closer to him and her hands found their way against his chest. She felt him lean down slowly as he brought his face closer to hers and her heart began to race. At the last possible second, however, she tilted her head down slightly and closed her eyes as she felt his forehead meet hers.

"Right," he whispered as he realized her rejection, "boyfriend."

"I'm sorry." She whispered as one of her hands turned in to a loose fist against his chest. She was surprised by the truth behind her words.

His head shifted to the left ever so slightly as his lips twitched in to a ghost of a smile. "Don't be."

"I just-"

"I get it, 'Rora." He straightened himself back up and took a step away from her. "Get home safe, alright?"

She nodded. "I will."

He gave her a sad, almost defeated, smile as he shoved his hands in to his pockets and made his way to his Jeep. Aurora jumped inside her own car and left the parking lot as quickly as she safely could. She had only made it half a block before she felt the tears well up in her eyes.


End file.
